Alternative, punk, rock, hardcore - whatever you want to call it - this is the music that has lodged a bass drum sized place in my heart. It was really a no-brainer that I just had to go to the final Warped Tour and see some of my favorite bands and discover loads of new ones.
Warped Tour isn't only fun and games. The first obstacle for my friend and I was getting to the venue without getting lost - which we didn't, thank goodness!
The drive there went relatively quickly, but from the base of the mountain to the top was comparable to the way a sloth moves.
We spent an hour and a half crawling up to the venue watching kids walk past us because they parked at the base of The Pavilion at Montage Mountain where the concert was being held. Needless to say, I didn't want to be them.
But finally, after people watching, singing at the top of our lungs and playing Song Association we made it up the mountain and were walking into Warped for the last time.
Finding the blow-up sign was more difficult than I imagined, especially with the crowd in front of the stage 3OH!3 was performing on. When we did find it, I snapped a couple pictures and we booked it up to the Journey's Right Foot stage to watch This Wild Life, an acoustic group, perform.
They were better than the first time I saw them, which happened to be at my first Warped Tour three years ago. Through this whole experience, I realized just how much I would miss the opportunity to attend this festival again.
After their performance, we had to speed over to As It Is who I had never listened to before, but I will definitely start after seeing them on stage. They had such an energetic presence, the lyrics were great, and the music was really catchy as well. In fact, since then I've been listening to them non-stop.
As It IsMadison Blackwell
After they were done, we went over to see State Champs and then we had two hours to kill until Real Friends came on. Thankfully, they were playing under the only stage with a tent over it and seating, so we stayed there and watched the bands that played prior to them.
And I was really impressed with The Maine. First of all, they had matching outfits that I very much appreciated - even their instruments matched!
Then Real Friends came up, they were good, but then it was time for the band that I really wanted to see, Motionless In White.
We got to their stage a half hour early and had to listen to the band before MIW.
Don't get me wrong, they weren't bad, but the bass was turned all the way up and it physically hurt my chest when they were playing. Once each song was over, it was as if I could breathe again, but then the air was taken away from me as they went into their next song.
That set took what felt like forever to finish, but then MIW got on stage and it was fantastic. The music itself was killer and the vocalist was even better than on their records. They're from Scranton, so you could tell they were pumped to be there and that excitement influenced the crowd.
Motionless In WhiteMadison Blackwell
Thirty minutes was not enough time to witness them perform and I hope I can go see them again in the near future.
Mayday Parade was the last band that we wanted to see before we left the final Warped Tour. Their acoustic music was a much-appreciated way to wind down the night. After the heat, sweat, and loud music of the day, I was spent and ready to go home.
The good far outweighed the bad at the end of the day. It didn't fully hit me that I wouldn't be able to go back until the next day when I was scanning through the pictures I took.
Though I've only been there twice, I can genuinely say that I will miss Warped Tour and all that comes with it - the music, the excitement, and the fun.
